Margaret Hazlett margaret.hazlett@fandm.edu
Wed, Aug 12, 5:42 PM
Dear Students,
As we continue to navigate the cascading impact of the pandemic, I am writing to provide an important update on Fall 2020 student employment, and specifically the employment of work-aided students engaged in remote learning.
After substantial research, and in light of a significant change in the regulatory guidance governing payment of wages and tax withholding, F&M’s Student Employment Group (SEG), which is made up of senior leadership and representatives from the offices who oversee and manage F&M’s student employment system, has made the following determinations:
– F&M can only hire and employ work-aided students who are in residence and working in-person, or who otherwise reside in Lancaster County and are working remotely.
– F&M cannot employ students working outside of Lancaster County because every state, municipality, city, and country where our students reside have different tax withholding, wage levels, and reporting requirements.
This is obviously different from what the College was able to do in the spring, when the College paid all student workers, no matter their physical location, because temporary regulatory guidance permitted us to do so. Now, unfortunately, that temporary regulatory guidance has expired. Please know that SEG explored every possibility in an attempt to remedy this issue before arriving at this decision.
SEG fully recognizes that this will adversely affect those students outside of Lancaster County who were planning to work remotely this fall. To help mitigate the impact of this on our students, the College will make available its hardship funds to offer some financial support to students for whom the above decisions may cause financial hardship. We are committed to doing our best to help our students. It’s important to note, however, that hardship funding is limited, and the College cannot fully fund student-worker pay for students outside Lancaster County as we did in the spring.
We will update the fall 2020 website with information about how to apply for financial hardship funding from F&M to help with the loss of student employment created by the pandemic and this change in regulatory guidance. Application review will begin in early September. Questions can be directed to the Student Employment Group at seg@fandm.edu.
I am very mindful that these are trying circumstances, and the struggles that our students, parents, faculty, and staff are enduring are real. We will work through this student employment issue with as much compassion and support for our students as possible, and I appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
Margaret Hazlett
Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs